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Measles Campaign Set to Reach Record 7.6 Million Children -- UNICEF

United Nations (New York)

May 17, 2003

Posted to the web May 19, 2003

New York

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said today it is set to achieve its ambitious target to vaccinate 7.6 million Angolan children against measles, making it the biggest health initiative in the country's history.

UNICEF said more than 5 million children have already been successfully vaccinated during the first two phases of the National Measles Campaign launched last 21 April. Data indicates that every single Angolan boy and girl between the ages of nine months and 15 years -- totalling 7.6 million -- is likely to be protected from this lethal disease when the campaign ends in a few days, the agency added.

The success is particularly remarkable as the campaign is operating under challenging conditions, since 27 years of civil war left Angola's basic infrastructure in disarray before a peace accord was signed last year.

"Angola's national measles campaign is complicated by post-war difficulties of poor access and damaged transportation routes. At a time when bridges are broken, roads ruined, mines ubiquitous, and populations on the move, the challenges of the operation cannot be underestimated," UNICEF Representative Mario Ferrari said.

Around 10,000 Angolan children die each year from measles, with 95 per cent of cases occurring in children below 15 years of age.

"This translates to 30 children dying every day from a disease that can be readily prevented," Mr. Ferrari stated. "These are the numbers that must be reversed. And I am happy to say the success of the National Measles Campaign means that process is now beginning in Angola," he added.

UNICEF said it is, in collaboration with its partners, currently reaching the most inaccessible rural areas in the campaign's third and final phase through the use of military helicopters, personnel carriers, cargo planes and four-wheel drive vehicles.

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